1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to dampers for vehicular suspension systems and, in particular, is concerned with an upper mount assembly and method for quickly mounting a damper to a vehicular body.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical vehicular suspension system is includes a hydraulic damper, e.g., a strut or a shock absorber, mounted at each wheel to damp spring forces between a sprung body and an unsprung wheel assembly. A lower end of each damper is connected to a wheel assembly by any suitable manner. An upper end of each damper includes a reciprocable piston rod extending therefrom and projecting upwardly. An upper mount assembly secures the piston rod, and thus the damper, to the support structure of the vehicle, usually at a mounting tower formed in the body.
The majority of conventional upper mount assemblies include threaded bolts or fasteners which project upwardly through openings in the mounting tower. Nuts are threaded on the bolts to secure the upper mount assembly to the mounting tower.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,003 discloses an upper mount assembly comprising a coned portion carrying a resilient snap ring retainer. As a piston rod mounting the assembly is pushed upwardly through an opening in a mounting tower, the snap ring is squeezed radially inwardly by a decreasing diameter conical wall of the mounting tower. When the snap ring clears the top of the conical wall, it recovers to its uncompressed diameter, greater than the diameter of the upper end of the conical wall, to quickly and precisely lock the strut in an installed position without the use of conventional fasteners.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,849 discloses an upper mount assembly for temporarily attaching an upper end of a damper to a vehicle. A plurality of resilient tabs are compressed as they pass through an opening in a mounting tower and then spring to their original diameter to retain the damper on the body during an assembly process. At a later point in the assembly, nuts are threaded onto bolts to secure the damper for normal use.